


Greening Sour Apples

by lapsed-bookworm (queerlybeloved777)



Series: Apples & Honey [1]
Category: S.W.A.T. (TV 2017)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Dates, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Queer Character, Canon Queer Relationship, Canon polyamory, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, Multi, Polyamory, Pre-OT3, Pre-Poly, Unicorn Hunting, Unicorns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 20:03:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16646825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerlybeloved777/pseuds/lapsed-bookworm
Summary: Oh god, Chris nodded mutely for this woman she was beginning to worry she didn’t truly know to continue,Did I fuck a Republican?Kira took a sip of her drink and then a deep breath, and just when Chris was a bit worried it was going to be something more personal than political differences - a terminal illness, a strange kink, she was in the process of leaving a cult, her family was homophobic - she finally said, “I’m polyamorous.”





	Greening Sour Apples

**Author's Note:**

> Slight canon deviation that Kira isn’t upfront about engagement initially.

Kira looked good in her shoulderless peasant top with the amber lights from the high table seating catching on her shirt’s bright white fabric and her hair. If Chris allowed herself to feel sentimental ( _sappy_ , an inner voice corrected), she might make a comparison to angels after a few drinks from the bar, and she was immensely glad that she’d given consideration to turning the amazing, casual girl she’d met a few weeks ago into a girlfriend. Kira’s face brightened as she caught sight of Chris winding her way through the tables from the door, and the butterflies in Chris’ stomach did a happy flutter at the excitement in her eyes. Yes, she was absolutely sure she was ready to bring up being more serious with Kira.

“Hey.”

“Hey”, Kira was all smiles, and Chris wondered briefly if the fruity drink in front of her was a head start, “I was worried you’d forgotten my number, or something.”

“Sorry”, Chris browsed the menu on the table with the indie home brews of craft beer, “I was trying to tell myself that I wanted to stay casual, but…”

Kira’s soft pink lipstick was a bit distracting, but Chris was aware of a small, knowing smile and fingers brushing in between hers, intertwining gently on the table. She sounded a little awed, “I’m glad you’re interested in being serious, Chris, I am.” The butterflies in Chris’ stomach did a dread filled spasm, and Kira smiled reassuringly, “I would love to be more serious with you, but there’s something I need to tell you before we progress to that point.”

 _Oh god_ , Chris nodded mutely for this woman she was beginning to worry she didn’t truly know to continue, _Did I fuck a Republican?_ Kira took a sip of her drink and then a deep breath, and just when Chris was a bit worried it was going to be something more personal than political differences - a terminal illness, a strange kink, she was in the process of leaving a cult, her family was homophobic - she finally said, “I’m polyamorous. I don’t believe love is a finite resource that we have to limit to one person, and I’m not interested in confining myself to monogamy because I know I won’t be happy.”

“You’re poly-what?”, Chris’ butterflies had flown away, and she felt oddly numb at the bombshell. That was nowhere near her radar of possible incompatibilities, limits, or dealbreakers. She played with the corners of the menu, unsure of what to do with her hands and unsure of what to do about how disappointed Kira looked that she’d withdrawn from their prior connection, “Isn’t that, like, FLDS and sister-wives?”

“No, that’s religious polygamy, specifically polygyny”, Kira had folded her hands in front of her on the table, and Chris was reasonably sure she sounded a bit tired like she had had to answer this question before, perhaps more than a few times, “I don’t approach polyamory from a certain religious point of view, and I personally think it’s a little more innate than being a choice. I’m not afraid of commitment or selfishly unwilling to choose one partner. However, that’s more big picture than this conversation.”

“Does that mean you’re going to go looking for someone?”, Chris wasn’t proud of how quiet she had become, but a horribly inadequate feeling was bubbling up from somewhere and she didn’t even know how to describe what she felt. Shocked, upset that Kira had waited this long to drop this information on her, a small but strong undercurrent of jealousy and fear that she wasn’t enough. Kira stirred her drink and weighed her words carefully, “I am interested in consensual non-monogamy. I don’t just go looking for any random person whenever the mood strikes because I want my partners to know about each other. I don’t want to hide a relationship, lie about a partner, and cheat.”

It was an answer that was objectively useful, but Chris could feel her gut clench with the instinct laden hunch that it was also a large non-answer. Kira wasn’t going to go looking for someone to add to their burgeoning relationship because _Chris_ was the extra, the third wheel haphazardly added to a bicycle, the other woman. A tendril of sadness cut through the shock, anger, and other miscellaneous emotions making her heart a riot. Kira frowned at the silence, brows furrowing in concern rather than irritation or upset on her part, “Chris, I’m telling you this because I would like this - our relationship - to be more than a casual, short-lived fling. I want you to know about my other partner.”

“Just one?”, Chris wasn’t sure she could handle the news that Kira had a dozen partners ready to crawl out of the woodwork in some extended quasi-family thing. What were multiple partner relationships even called? Would she have to meet these people? She had never been fond of dates trying to encourage her to be friends with their friends because it was often forced, and it didn’t sound like it would fair any better if she was time-sharing a date. Kira nodded, looking a little relieved that she hadn’t gone mute in shock or run to the door in horror, “Just one. His name is Ty.”

“Is this some sort of bi-curious…?”, Chris trailed with a vague wave of her hand. She didn’t want to call it an experiment because then she was the beakers and shit being given a test run, and Kira shook her head quickly, face scrunched up in concern, “No, absolutely not. Ty and I are looking for someone interested in a triad, in being our third.”

Chris’ stomach jumped, and without really thinking it through, she had stood up in a sympathetic mirroring of her nerves. She hadn’t hidden references to prior relationships with men because she wasn’t interested in hiding her bisexuality, but something felt off about all of this. Almost like she was stumbling through a surreal dream that had turned into a nightmare of being the bi bait for a couple’s threesome fantasy. Chris walked away from the table, already pulling out her phone to excuse the sudden end to their date with a text. She had barely had time to process the polyamory spiel, and this was just too much to even think about whether it was grounds for ending their relationship.

> I need time to process & think about this

**Author's Note:**

>  **Hot Bi Babe** ([HBB](https://www.morethantwo.com/polyglossary.html#hbb)): A bisexual person, usually though not always female, who is willing to join an existing couple, often with the presumption that this person will date and become sexually involved with both members of that couple, and not demand anything or do anything which might cause problems or inconvenience to that couple. Some members of the polyamory community self-identify as hot bi babes and/or unicorns as a form of tongue-in-cheek intentional irony. _See also_ : [Unicorn](http://polyfor.us/to-unicorns-from-an-ex-unicorn/) and [Unicorn Hunting](http://polyliving.net/2013/10/unicorn-unicorn-hunting-unicorn-triad/).
> 
> I'm not saying with 100% certainty that Kira and Ty are Unicorn Hunters, but some of the initial negotiating did seem like it could go either way, depending on how the writers handle this.


End file.
